Thank you for joining us for The Lyrical Press Paranormal Romances Tour! Our featured titles today are:Ever Bound (Cursed Series, #1.5) by Odessa Gillespie Black
Never Been Bitten by Erica Ridley
Reckoning (The Tazavorn, #2) by Sonya Weiss
Wicked Burn (Realm Enforcers, #3) by Rebecca Zanetti
Below you will find synopsis, excerpts, trailers and purchasing links for each novel, as well as author bios and stalking information.
The Authors will be awarding digital copies of all the books on the tour to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀).
Synopsis | The Books | About the Authors | Giveaway
Lyrical Press Paranormal Romances Books
Ever Bound | Never Been Bitten | Reckoning | Wicked Burn |
Ever Bound by Odessa Gillespie Black
A love as doomed as it is destined...
1879, Tennessee. A farmhand on the vast Rollins estate, handsome young Colby Kinsley makes the mistake of his life when he becomes briefly entangled with conniving Grace Rollins, the plantation owner's beautiful but unstable daughter. Yet matters become even more complicated when he finds himself falling truly in love with Grace's clever younger sister, Annabeth...
Intent on escaping her darkly troubled father and her melancholy home, Annabeth is also determined to avoid Colby. Yet she is still drawn to his quick wit and many talents. And when he performs an act of astounding courage, she can no longer deny her true feelings for him…just as her sister cannot hide her jealous rage. Grace will do anything to destroy the blossoming romance—even invoke dark, powerful supernatural forces. And as her dangerous machinations begin, the passions of all three are set on a tragic course—with a conclusion that will echo across lifetimes…
[7 June 2016, Lyrical Press, 145 pages. This is the 1.5th book in the Cursed Series series.] PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below. Read the first two chapters with Amazon Look Inside.
Excerpt
Chapter One
[...]“Carry the feed to the barn, then put the horses away,” Pop said.
We’d spent most of the morning cleaning the catacombs under the house. According to Mr. Rollins, the plantation owner and Grace and Annabeth’s father, they were long tunnels that led to various places on the property. One even led to a cave that opened up under a waterfall far on the south end of the property.
Three years, and I hadn’t heard tell of the waterfall. Maybe it would be so far off Grace wouldn’t be able to seek me out.
Now that the work season was about to end, I would enter my third year at school.
Grace had finagled me into going with her and her sister, Annabeth.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked school. In fact, it was probably one of the best things that had happened to me, but it forced me to spend more time with Grace. Such a punishment sucked all the appeal out of the prospect of becoming an educated gentleman.
Grace still insisted I meet her at night. Every night.
But I always found a way to get out of it.
Thank goodness Mama had eyes like a chicken hawk. When Grace was around, she made excuses to keep me home.
Like clockwork, the deflated Grace made off toward the house, and Mama would wink and go back to her chores.
Taking the bridles, I patted the horses’ backs as we walked to the barn. When I came out of a rear stall, a smiling face with long, black tresses swung down from the second level of the barn. She had to be lying on her stomach and leaning too far over the edge.
I jumped.
“You’re going to fall to your death.” Taking some tools from a workbench and putting them on the hooks I’d made for them, I tried to appear too busy to talk. I’d spent hours making the place easier to work in. And it looked so much nicer cleaned up.
“You’re such a sourpuss.” She pulled her head back up. In the barn’s upper level, her footfalls didn’t even creak the boards. “Why do you spend so much time in this dark cave? I dare say, I think you are a bat.”
I used to think that a barn with all the dirty smells would run a girl off, but she didn’t let it dash her mood. I called into the dark second level, “If you continue to follow me around like this, your father will have my hide.”
“A nice hide it is.” She giggled from behind me.
I slid around her wide skirts to the other side of a work table.
She was so sneaky; my heart pounded when she was around. I never knew what she would say or do next.
“How was your day?” She slinked up to me. Teasingly, she trailed her fingers down my sweat-soaked arm.
I faced her but backed away a little. Looking around her, I searched for a place to put a hammer on the wall.
Her red lips turned up into a grin, and she leaned over almost brushing her breasts against my arms.
I slipped to the left to dodge them and kept my gaze on her face.“A barn is no place for a girl. You’ll ruin all those nice dresses and shiny shoes.”
“Why are you so disagreeable today, Colby?”
“I don’t want my family sent away. We’ve lived on seven plantations, and I don’t feel like moving to an eighth. I’m tired of picking up in the middle of the night and leaving, so if you want to be friends at all, you need to stop clinging to my shirttail.”
“You fear what my parents may think of us rolling around up here?That implies you think about us.” Her cat eyes narrowed as if she were ready to pounce. “Wait. Why would your family have to move around like that?”
“I don’t know.” I sat on a hay bale in the back of the barn and sagged back onto the wall. “Mama says it’s to keep us safe.”
“As curious as that is, I’m more interested in the fact that you have finally considered us friends.” Grace shifted her dress and sat down beside me.
“We’re not exactly suited to be anything else.” If that.
“Perhaps, considering I’m so much better than you and all. Why, we shouldn’t even be breathing the same air.” She played with my shirt button. “I wish you weren’t so old-fashioned. People who have money don’t have to marry into more money. That’s downright selfish.”
I removed her hand. “We’re from different worlds.”
“You’re so smart. After university you could be anything you wanted to be.” She slipped the hem of my shirt out of my britches, but I shoved her hand away.
School? Ha. “I can see my father paying for that. As soon as the apples float off the trees and put themselves in their own bushel baskets.”
Grace grabbed my shoulders. Her eyes sparkled. “I’m going to talk to Daddy and have him talk to your daddy. I think he’d allow it if you agreed to pay back the loan. It wouldn’t have to cost him a thing.”
“I don’t know. That’s not a good idea.” With Grace’s roaming hands, there would be no resting, so I stood.
Grace kissed me right on the cheek and almost knocked me back down in the hay. “If we could go away, we could spend more time together and not have to worry about being caught.” After jumping up and gathering her skirts, she rushed out the barn door. “I’ll talk to Daddy right away.”
I should have considered myself lucky. She was a beautiful girl, but what she’d want with me when she could have had any high-falluting guy on a neighboring plantation, I couldn’t understand. And no matter what I did or said, she took it all wrong. If I was a jackass, she thought it clever banter. If I shoved her away, I was playing hard to get. The last resort had been to give in and try to be friends with her.After a few months, I thought she’d see that all we would ever have was friendship.
That hadn’t worked, either.
Ever Bound
Available NOW!
Never Been Bitten by Erica Ridley
Previously published in the collection Born to Bite
Amid the lore of 19th century England, even a woman of science isn’t immune to the charms of a wickedly handsome, dangerously sexy vampire…
The devilishly seductive, irresistibly rakish Mr. Macane is ravishing all the ladies of the ton—despite the fact that he is penniless, untitled—and believed to be a vampire. Hired to disprove such an absurd claim, the skeptical Miss Elspeth Ramsay does not expect to tremble in his presence—until the graze of his teeth on her neck ignites an appetite of her own, and she finds herself biting him back! Surely this sudden bloodlust can only mean danger for her family and her heart—or a love for eternity...
[21 June 2016, Lyrical Press, 97 pages. ] PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below. Read the first chapter with Amazon Look Inside.
Excerpt
Chapter One
October 1830
Lincolnshire, England
To some, the Wedgeworth soirée might appear a splendid crush of debutantes, dandies, and music, but to Miss Elspeth Ramsay—inveterate bluestocking, indifferent spinster, and, most damning of all, tradeswoman—the evening’s crush was simply her latest assignment. As planned, she’d been commissioned to enter the world of the ton.
If Ellie were a fidgeter, she might have been nervously smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from the nicest of her outdated gowns. She did not fidget. If she were a coquette, perhaps she would be twining one of her wayward curls about her finger whilst simpering at the eligible bachelors. Ellie did not simper. If she were socially ambitious, she might be near to a swoon at having arrived at a High Society fête as the particular guest of the youngest daughter of a duke. She did not swoon. Instead, Ellie stood in the farthest corner from the orchestra, surreptitiously surveying the crowd and hoping none of them would notice her in the shadows. After mentally cataloguing and discarding each of the revelers as harmless, she turned to her benefactress with a raised brow.
“Well?” she said, impatient to calm her client’s irrational fears and escape the oppressive splendor. “Where is he?”
Rather than being affronted by this impertinence, Miss Lydia Breckenridge beamed with self-satisfaction. “He has not yet arrived.” Miss Breckenridge nearly bounced on her satin-slippered feet. “I knew you’d be able to discern human from inhuman upon sight, you being an authority on the paranormal—”
“I am no such thing!” Ellie was unable to bear this speech with continued calm. “I am a woman of science, Miss Breckenridge. If anything, I am a ‘professional skeptic.’ To date, every such claim I’ve investigated has been quickly proven false, and I don’t doubt this one shall unfold in the same way.” As much as she and her mother desperately needed the coin, Ellie couldn’t help but give a slight shake of her head. “Vampires, indeed.”
“But don’t you see?” Miss Breckenridge insisted, eyes shining.“That’s what makes your involvement perfect. When even you are forced to admit true evil walks amongst us, the rest will be obliged to take heed.”
“And do what?” Ellie asked sensibly. “Drive a stake through his waistcoat?”
“What a horrid image.” Miss Breckenridge’s brow creased. “To be honest, I had not thought so far in advance.”
Ellie forbore mentioning she doubted her client had thought over any portion of her preposterous belief. Rudeness was never warranted, and besides, she planned to earn the promised ten-pound note. “At what point did you first suspect the new earl in town to be a vampire?”
“No, no,” gasped Miss Breckenridge. “You’ve got it all wrong.”
Ellie blinked. “He’s not a vampire?”
“He’s not a lord.” Miss Breckenridge sniffed. “Despite his sobriquet. He’s a younger son of a family in the Scottish Highlands, distantly related to the head of some forgotten medieval clan. He’s not a member of the peerage whatsoever. How could he be, if he’s an undead immortal?”
“How indeed,” Ellie said faintly. “How, then, did he cut such a swath?”
For a moment, Miss Breckenridge’s eyes turned dreamy.“Mártainn Macane may be penniless and a cursed bloodsucker, but he’s devilishly handsome.”
Never Been Bitten
Available NOW!
Reckoning by Sonya Weiss
The Great Extinction, the prophesied war between the humans and the Supernaturals, has begun.Born a Supernatural, Juliet Sawyer has the ability to save the world from disaster. But after barely escaping the underground, power-sucking prison known as the Void, she finds herself on the brink of death and in the middle of a vengeful war. To survive, she’ll have to make a deal with her human captors. But the stakes are raised when she learns the government is holding her sister hostage. To rescue her, Juliet must become a weapon for humanity, fighting against her own kind—including Riley West, the boy she fell deeply in love with—and by whom she was abandoned.
Forced to desert Juliet, Riley is on a mission to capture the human’s president and bring her to the Supernatural’s king. But if he fails, there will be no stopping the Night of Grief, which will unleash horrors capable of destroying humans and Supernaturals alike. With battle lines drawn, amid a flurry of secrets and betrayals, can Juliet and Riley rescue their love as well as all life on Earth? Or will someone get caught in the crossfire?
[21 June 2016, Lyrical Press, 251 pages. This is the second book in the The Tazavorn series.] PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below. Read the first chapter with Amazon Look Inside.
Excerpt
I put my other hand directly over his heart, taking comfort in the steady beat.
He skimmed his fingers across the side of my cheekbone in an achingly sweet caress as if touching something precious to him. My name escaped his lips on a breath of reverence. With a low sigh, he shifted closer, tangling his fingers in my brown hair. I’d always disliked the color of my hair. It was the epitome of plain even after I’d tried to add red highlights. I’d never thought of myself as pretty. My looks were okay. My build average. Nothing about me stood out.
Riley didn’t see me that way. He’d told me I was beautiful. Said he’d noticed me long before I’d noticed him, though I doubted that.No girl, Supernatural or human, overlooked Riley. The concern in his eyes warmed me the way his kisses had when he’d trailed them along the side of my neck. I breathed faster wishing I could return to that moment.
“Are you okay, Juliet?”
I licked my dry lips and stuck my hands into the back pockets of his blue jeans, craving his nearness. “Not really. I know I should be warrior tough like you and the other Supernaturals and be able to quell emotion, but—”
“Stop it,” he said firmly, probably guessing what I was getting at.He traced my lips with his thumb. “We’ll find your sister.”
I pulled my hands free to touch the swelling under one of his eyes, wishing I had the gift of healing like some of the other Supernaturals.“When I think of Maisy, it’s like I can’t breathe…” I didn’t have to finish speaking before he nodded his head. He knew as well as I did what kind of danger the mixed-bloods were in.
“First, we keep our focus on getting out of here.” His blue eyes filled with trepidation as he looked around. He slowly turned his attention to the rock ceiling over us. Though we had a small amount of light filtering in from the castle above, in a matter of hours, the Void would fill completely with darkness, effectively blinding us.
“We can’t stay here in the open. It’s not safe. When darkness falls, the creatures come out of their hiding places and they—”
“Feed on the flesh and bones of Supernaturals and humans too slow to outrun them,” I interrupted him, repeating the tale I’d learned as a child. I shuddered at the thought of what lurked beyond my limited field of vision.
He put his hands around my waist, leading my body to fit tightly against his. “I would die to keep you safe.” His fingers tightened and I snuggled closer, stealing a moment to put my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head as I clung to him and squeezed my eyes closed. Please don’t ever let him hate me. Please.
I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud until he put his hand under my chin and tilted my face up. “I could never hate you. I’d have to rip the heart out of my chest for that to happen.”
I pressed my hand over my mouth in an attempt to stop the sob from escaping, but I was too late. The idea of what was to come was unfathomable. Trauma blossomed in me, like I’d witnessed a fatal car accident only to learn I’d been the one driving.
Alarmed, Riley’s eyebrows shot upward. “Hey. C’mon. You’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. The consequences of telling Riley were worse than if I didn’t. Tell him, we all die horrific deaths. Don’t tell, he dies and maybe there’s a way out. Maybe. At least by not telling him, we had a slim chance to survive, but I hated the odds. The stakes were too high. If destiny worked a customer service window, I’d gladly walk up and announce I wanted a different life.
“Juliet?”
Leaning up on my tiptoes, I locked my hand around the back of his neck, burying my fingers in his silky hair and drew his lips down to mine. His tongue sought out mine, driving my need for him into the stratosphere. When I pulled his bottom lip into my mouth, he sucked in a breath and groaned my name in a voice heavy with need.
He gripped beneath my arms and lifted me off my feet. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he winced at the pressure.
I let go of him. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He lifted his shirt. Dark bruises mottled his sides, and I hated his father even more for the pain he’d inflicted on Riley.
“Maybe we should wait until you’re better.”
He gave me a wickedly sexy grin. “That will make me feel better.”
I laughed and kissed him again, softer this time, and his hands dipped beneath my shirt. I was lost in him, in the sensations he created within me when footsteps drew closer to us from a darkened corridor off to the right. Riley pushed me against the wall and shielded me with his body.
His body went rigid, his hands drawn into fists. The tension drained from him when he saw who joined us.
I stepped from behind Riley but stood close enough so his arm brushed against mine. “Where were you?” I asked Stone
His eyebrows pinched together, and he gave me a look as if he knew what we’d been up to. “I was searching for fire-rocks. They’re around here somewhere, and if we find one, we’ll have light.” He fumbled around on the ground.
“Got one.” He ran his hands briskly along the sides of an oval rock and a flame ignited, casting a glow to illuminate a three-foot circle in the dimming light around us. Stone held my gaze for a second. The haunted pain in his eyes made me suck in a breath.
“I’m sorry,” I said, knowing even as I spoke the words how woefully inadequate they were.
His girlfriend, Chloe, had been killed and her body thrown into the Void at the same time Stone was cast in. I knew his hurt. Had experienced pain that tore up my insides like a rat was trying to chew its way out. I’d lost people I loved because of the cruel leaders too.
“Now you know why falling in love is against the rules.” He tightened his hold on the fire-rock. “You were worried about saving each other and risked everyone else’s life.” The fire danced when Stone jerked the rock toward Riley. “Chloe’s dead because of you.”He turned his attention to me. “And you.”
“Stone, please look at me,” I implored, hating the chasm growing in our friendship. “What happened to Chloe—”
“Didn’t have to happen.” He looked up at the ceiling of the Void, blinking rapidly. “She meant everything to me. Now she’s gone, and what am I left with?” He lowered his head and glanced at Riley with a sneer. “A king who had his kingdom stolen from him and”—he turned his bitterness my way—“the so-called savior of us all who’s nothing more than a lab experiment.”
The insult hit like a punch to the stomach, and I sucked in a breath. Stone had never cast a slur on the circumstances of my creation before.
I forced myself to push aside the hurt. Hadn’t I lashed out when grief had a stranglehold on me? I tentatively touched his shirt, sliding my hand around his waist, intending to give him a hug.
He put his hand on my shoulder and shoved me away. I staggered backward and landed hard on my butt.
Before I could get up, Riley gripped Stone’s shirt collar and backed him against the cold, unforgiving wall, their faces inches apart.“I understand your pain—how the rage and emptiness burns—and I know you’re grieving, but be a man about it. Don’t take it out on Juliet.”
Seconds ticked by, and I thought they were going to come to blows. They might have if a light hadn’t bathed us all in blinding brightness. I squinted and shaded my eyes with my hand. We’d been focused on each other, and we hadn’t heard the Guard approach.Guards weren’t known for their kindness. They were the reason some of the mixed-blood children had been maimed and others of them killed. I hated the sight of these heartless Supernaturals.
He swaggered closer, thrusting his wide chest out. “Dissention already?” His stomach hung over the sides of his utility belt, nearly covering his weapon. He reeked of dirt and sweat and when he smiled, he revealed protruding front teeth. He belched and his onion-coated breath wafted in my direction, so thick and putrid I could almost swear I saw the stench hanging in the air like a poisonous gas. My empty stomach rebelled, and I gagged. The Guard’s close-set eyes swung to me, and his gaze raked over my body. A gleam of interest flashed in his eyes. He leered and came closer. “What do we have here?”
He skimmed his fingers across the side of my cheekbone in an achingly sweet caress as if touching something precious to him. My name escaped his lips on a breath of reverence. With a low sigh, he shifted closer, tangling his fingers in my brown hair. I’d always disliked the color of my hair. It was the epitome of plain even after I’d tried to add red highlights. I’d never thought of myself as pretty. My looks were okay. My build average. Nothing about me stood out.
Riley didn’t see me that way. He’d told me I was beautiful. Said he’d noticed me long before I’d noticed him, though I doubted that.No girl, Supernatural or human, overlooked Riley. The concern in his eyes warmed me the way his kisses had when he’d trailed them along the side of my neck. I breathed faster wishing I could return to that moment.
“Are you okay, Juliet?”
I licked my dry lips and stuck my hands into the back pockets of his blue jeans, craving his nearness. “Not really. I know I should be warrior tough like you and the other Supernaturals and be able to quell emotion, but—”
“Stop it,” he said firmly, probably guessing what I was getting at.He traced my lips with his thumb. “We’ll find your sister.”
I pulled my hands free to touch the swelling under one of his eyes, wishing I had the gift of healing like some of the other Supernaturals.“When I think of Maisy, it’s like I can’t breathe…” I didn’t have to finish speaking before he nodded his head. He knew as well as I did what kind of danger the mixed-bloods were in.
“First, we keep our focus on getting out of here.” His blue eyes filled with trepidation as he looked around. He slowly turned his attention to the rock ceiling over us. Though we had a small amount of light filtering in from the castle above, in a matter of hours, the Void would fill completely with darkness, effectively blinding us.
“We can’t stay here in the open. It’s not safe. When darkness falls, the creatures come out of their hiding places and they—”
“Feed on the flesh and bones of Supernaturals and humans too slow to outrun them,” I interrupted him, repeating the tale I’d learned as a child. I shuddered at the thought of what lurked beyond my limited field of vision.
He put his hands around my waist, leading my body to fit tightly against his. “I would die to keep you safe.” His fingers tightened and I snuggled closer, stealing a moment to put my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head as I clung to him and squeezed my eyes closed. Please don’t ever let him hate me. Please.
I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud until he put his hand under my chin and tilted my face up. “I could never hate you. I’d have to rip the heart out of my chest for that to happen.”
I pressed my hand over my mouth in an attempt to stop the sob from escaping, but I was too late. The idea of what was to come was unfathomable. Trauma blossomed in me, like I’d witnessed a fatal car accident only to learn I’d been the one driving.
Alarmed, Riley’s eyebrows shot upward. “Hey. C’mon. You’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. The consequences of telling Riley were worse than if I didn’t. Tell him, we all die horrific deaths. Don’t tell, he dies and maybe there’s a way out. Maybe. At least by not telling him, we had a slim chance to survive, but I hated the odds. The stakes were too high. If destiny worked a customer service window, I’d gladly walk up and announce I wanted a different life.
“Juliet?”
Leaning up on my tiptoes, I locked my hand around the back of his neck, burying my fingers in his silky hair and drew his lips down to mine. His tongue sought out mine, driving my need for him into the stratosphere. When I pulled his bottom lip into my mouth, he sucked in a breath and groaned my name in a voice heavy with need.
He gripped beneath my arms and lifted me off my feet. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he winced at the pressure.
I let go of him. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He lifted his shirt. Dark bruises mottled his sides, and I hated his father even more for the pain he’d inflicted on Riley.
“Maybe we should wait until you’re better.”
He gave me a wickedly sexy grin. “That will make me feel better.”
I laughed and kissed him again, softer this time, and his hands dipped beneath my shirt. I was lost in him, in the sensations he created within me when footsteps drew closer to us from a darkened corridor off to the right. Riley pushed me against the wall and shielded me with his body.
His body went rigid, his hands drawn into fists. The tension drained from him when he saw who joined us.
I stepped from behind Riley but stood close enough so his arm brushed against mine. “Where were you?” I asked Stone
His eyebrows pinched together, and he gave me a look as if he knew what we’d been up to. “I was searching for fire-rocks. They’re around here somewhere, and if we find one, we’ll have light.” He fumbled around on the ground.
“Got one.” He ran his hands briskly along the sides of an oval rock and a flame ignited, casting a glow to illuminate a three-foot circle in the dimming light around us. Stone held my gaze for a second. The haunted pain in his eyes made me suck in a breath.
“I’m sorry,” I said, knowing even as I spoke the words how woefully inadequate they were.
His girlfriend, Chloe, had been killed and her body thrown into the Void at the same time Stone was cast in. I knew his hurt. Had experienced pain that tore up my insides like a rat was trying to chew its way out. I’d lost people I loved because of the cruel leaders too.
“Now you know why falling in love is against the rules.” He tightened his hold on the fire-rock. “You were worried about saving each other and risked everyone else’s life.” The fire danced when Stone jerked the rock toward Riley. “Chloe’s dead because of you.”He turned his attention to me. “And you.”
“Stone, please look at me,” I implored, hating the chasm growing in our friendship. “What happened to Chloe—”
“Didn’t have to happen.” He looked up at the ceiling of the Void, blinking rapidly. “She meant everything to me. Now she’s gone, and what am I left with?” He lowered his head and glanced at Riley with a sneer. “A king who had his kingdom stolen from him and”—he turned his bitterness my way—“the so-called savior of us all who’s nothing more than a lab experiment.”
The insult hit like a punch to the stomach, and I sucked in a breath. Stone had never cast a slur on the circumstances of my creation before.
I forced myself to push aside the hurt. Hadn’t I lashed out when grief had a stranglehold on me? I tentatively touched his shirt, sliding my hand around his waist, intending to give him a hug.
He put his hand on my shoulder and shoved me away. I staggered backward and landed hard on my butt.
Before I could get up, Riley gripped Stone’s shirt collar and backed him against the cold, unforgiving wall, their faces inches apart.“I understand your pain—how the rage and emptiness burns—and I know you’re grieving, but be a man about it. Don’t take it out on Juliet.”
Seconds ticked by, and I thought they were going to come to blows. They might have if a light hadn’t bathed us all in blinding brightness. I squinted and shaded my eyes with my hand. We’d been focused on each other, and we hadn’t heard the Guard approach.Guards weren’t known for their kindness. They were the reason some of the mixed-blood children had been maimed and others of them killed. I hated the sight of these heartless Supernaturals.
He swaggered closer, thrusting his wide chest out. “Dissention already?” His stomach hung over the sides of his utility belt, nearly covering his weapon. He reeked of dirt and sweat and when he smiled, he revealed protruding front teeth. He belched and his onion-coated breath wafted in my direction, so thick and putrid I could almost swear I saw the stench hanging in the air like a poisonous gas. My empty stomach rebelled, and I gagged. The Guard’s close-set eyes swung to me, and his gaze raked over my body. A gleam of interest flashed in his eyes. He leered and came closer. “What do we have here?”
Reckoning
Available NOW!
Wicked Burn by Rebecca Zanetti
If you love the Dark Protectors, these wicked hot Realm Enforcers are for you!Simone Brightston knows she can beat the rap her enemies are pinning on her. An Irish witch is nobody's fool, and she didn't get to her position on the high council without serious power. But her cousins want her to hide out--and they somehow convinced her arch nemesis to play getaway driver.
Of all the men she's known, Nikolaj Veis is the hardest to intimidate. With his demon-dark eyes and his inscrutable beauty, he's as desirable as he is dangerous. And he knows better than to underestimate Simone. So when he pulls up on a roaring bike and tells her to climb on or fight it out, she grabs a handful of jacket and holds on tight. Running from the law may not be the smartest plan. But when it comes to Nick, hot pursuit and a blazing fast ride are exactly what Simone's looking for . . .
Includes the brand new Dark Protectors novella, ‘Talen’!
[7 June 2016, Lyrical Press, 366 pages. This is the third book in the Realm Enforcers series.] PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below. Read the first three chapters with Amazon Look Inside.
Excerpt
Prologue
A century ago
Nicholai Veis leaned against the interior wall of the rock and clay cottage, the ring nearly burning a hole in his pocket. Peace surrounded him in the silent dwelling, and even he, a former demon soldier, could feel the magic of Ireland outside the door.
He loved Ireland.
Or maybe it was the witch who’d captured his heart that made him embrace the magic of the place.
He reached for the ring to admire. Stunning. A three-carat Alexandrite gem surrounded by pure silver. It would look lovely on Simone’s finger. His nerves increased. Would she like the cottage?It was small, but for now, small would work.
Energy shifted outside the door. He paused and then shoved the ring inside his pocket, reaching for a dagger in his boot.
The knock on the door surprised him. Frowning, he crossed the empty main room and pulled it open. “Prophet Lily,” he murmured, looking immediately over her head to see Dage Kayrs, the King of the Realm. “And the king.” He had met both of them during peace talks after the last war. Tension uncoiled in his gut.
Even worse, dreams had been plaguing him lately in which Lily showed up and changed his entire life from light to dark. The dreams could not be omens. He wouldn’t let them be.
Lily smiled up at him, her stunning blue eyes lacking their usual sparkle. “I’m sorry to just appear, but the matter is urgent.” The weak sun shone on her nearly white-blond hair, which the wind instantly lifted. She shivered.
He drew her inside immediately, recognizing her scent of wild strawberries. Even in the dreams she smelled like the sweet fruit.“I’ll start a fire.” A stone fireplace made up the entire northern wall.
She shook her head. “I won’t be here long.”
Nick lifted an eyebrow at the king, who hadn’t moved. Dage Kayrs was six-and-a-half feet of hard soldier with dark silver eyes and jet-black hair. He’d had to step up as king after the war, or rather during it, and the toll showed in his world-weary gaze. “Are you coming in?” Nick asked.
Dage shook his head. “I’m just the transport. Lily said you needed to speak privately.” Even the king obeyed the tiny prophet.Yet he cleared his throat. “The Realm and the demon nation are allies for now, so I ask you to guarantee her safety.”
Nick’s chest heated. “I wouldn’t harm a prophet, king.”
“Understood.” Dage jumped up on a stone wall to sit.
Besides, Nick was leaving the demon nation. Well, perhaps not leaving, but he was finished working for them. It was time to mate Simone and start a new life in Ireland, where she could pursue her ambition of working for the Coven Nine, the ruling body of the witches. “Do you think it odd that you’re the only vampire to be able to teleport across the world?” Nick asked.
Dage shrugged. “Nope. I’ve got a gift.”
Nick barely kept from rolling his eyes. Someday the king would have to face the fact that there was a demon in his family tree—demons were known for being able to teleport by altering dimensions. Unfortunately, Nick wasn’t one of the demons who had that ability. “All right.” He shut the door and turned to face the tiny woman.
Lily fluttered her small hands together. The prophet marking wound up her neck in a graceful arc. She was one of three people chosen by fate to wear the mark and administer wisdom to all immortals. “I am so very sorry about this.”
Nick drew in a deep breath and gestured toward the rock ledge fronting the fireplace. “I haven’t had time to buy furniture, so that’s the only seat.”
She perched and spread her yellow skirts out. “I had a vision, Nicholai.” Her gaze remained on her hands.
Chills, sharper than normal, clawed down his back. In every bad dream, she had said the same words. “Is something bad going to happen to Simone?”
“No.” Lily took a deep breath. “Well, that depends on you.”
Ah hell. His head dropped forward. “I’m out, Lily. My uncle is right-hand to Suri, who now leads the demon nation. They have a plan, and they’re strong.”
“Your uncle is a sadist, and even he pales in comparison to Suri,” Lily whispered. “They can’t be allowed to follow their plans.”
Nick looked up, his muscles tightening through his abdomen.“Demons rule by lineage, and I don’t have the right bloodline. Even if I wanted to challenge Suri, and even if I had a chance in hell of beating him in a death match, I’m not of his line. I can’t rule.”
“I know,” she whispered. “But you, and only you, can make sure the right person does.”
He frowned, imaginary weights beginning to shove his shoulders down. Suri had two sisters; one was crazy-evil and the other too gentle to lead. “Who is the right person?”
“He hasn’t been born yet, and he won’t be unless you are in the right place to maneuver fate.” A tear slid down Lily’s face.“Several key moments have to come together, and even if you commit yourself fully, I don’t know that you’ll succeed. But you’re the only chance.”
He coughed out heated air, his mind burning. “Lily, I’m not in a position to do anything.”
“If your uncle died, you would be,” she whispered, her voice breaking.
He jerked back. “My first act to fulfill some impossible destiny is to murder my only living relative in this world?”
“Yes.” She met his gaze levelly, but her dismay was palpable in the small room. “You’d be next in line to advise Suri. Oh, Nick.I’ve seen some of the terrible things you’ll have to do in order to keep that place.”
“No.” He wouldn’t give up his soul. “The ends can’t justify those means.”
“They do.” She shook her head. “A terrible plague is coming in the future, one that will decimate the immortal world, especially vampire mates and the witches. I’ve seen it in visions. Only one person can stop it, and if he isn’t born, there is no stopping it.”
“Witches?” Nick asked, weakness sweeping through his knees.
“Yes. Even Simone.” More tears gathered in Lily’s eyes. “I hate this. I hate everything about this, but I’ve seen it, Nicholai. How bad it could get.”
He backed away from her until he reached the far wall. “Suri is evil, Lily,” he croaked.
“I know.” She shook her head, and a couple of tears fell. “You’ll have to go against everything you are to work with him.”
Nick breathed out. “Who has to be born? Who is this savior?”
Lily bit her lip. “I can’t see all of it. All I know is that a group of vampires will attack demon headquarters, and you have to be in a position to allow them to take Felicity. She must go with them.”
Nick narrowed his gaze. “You want me to allow Suri’s youngest sister, the only one with an ounce of kindness, to be taken by rogue vampires?”
“Yes. Then when she comes back, her son, the oldest one, must be protected at all costs. He’s the one.”
Bollocks. “You’re telling me that a demon-vampire half-breed is the one who will save the immortal world from a plague so horrendous that fate wants me to give up my life, most likely my soul, in order to protect him?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t put Simone in that kind of danger.” Hell. He didn’t want himself in it.
Lily swallowed. “There’s more.”
Of course there was. “Tell me.” Nick was done playing nice.
“I can’t see you after the boy takes power. That doesn’t mean you’re not still alive, but . . .”
Dread felt like needles as it pricked beneath Nick’s skin. “So I’ll be dead.”
“I don’t know.”
If he mated Simone, she’d never be able to take another mate, even if he was dead. Plus, if he committed to such a deadly plan, anybody he cared about would be a weakness to use against him.Which was more than likely why fate thought him perfect. “If I leave her, I’ll break her heart.” His was already shattering.
“I know.” Lily stood. “I’ve given you the facts, but only you can decide.” She crossed the room and leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek.
“Does the king know?” Nick asked.
“No. He has his own part to play, and he can’t know any of this.” Lily turned for the door.
Nick closed his eyes and tried to keep from throwing up. “If I do this, I need to know Simone will be taken care of. The king is a strong leader.” He hated to make the suggestion, but at least Nick wouldn’t have to see Dage ever again, especially with Simone. He reopened his eyelids.
Lily nodded. “I’ll try to secure her with Dage, but sometimes fate has other plans.” She opened the door. “Dage will return tomorrow for your answer, and if you decide to follow fate’s plan, he’ll teleport you to demon headquarters. Again, I’m so very sorry.” The door closed on a sob she couldn’t quite mask.
Nick buried his face in his hands. Oh, he’d felt the change coming. Fate had visited him, as well, but he’d chosen to ignore the dreams.
There really wasn’t a choice for him, not if the plague would also someday get Simone. He had to make sure the worst didn’t happen—leaving her was the only option. Even if he survived, he wouldn’t be the same person she loved now. He couldn’t be and still stand beside Suri.
He took the ring out again to see it sparkle in the dim light.“Good-bye,” he whispered to a future that could’ve been his.
Wicked Burn
Available NOW!
About the Authors
Odessa Gillespie Black | Erica Ridley | Sonya Weiss | Rebecca Zanetti |
Odessa Gillespie Black lives in the beautiful North Carolina foothills with her husband, four children, Chihuahuas Little Bit and Rico, and rescued Lab and Pit mix, Mo. When not chasing dogs around the backyard and tackling the daily duties of mother-and-wife-hood, she enjoys watching horror movies, and reading and writing paranormal romance. Follow Odessa Gillespie Black:
New York Times bestselling author Erica Ridley learned to read when she was four, which was about the same time she decided to be a writer when she grew up. Now, Erica writes Regency-set historical romances. Since becoming active in the writing community, all of her manuscripts have finaled in or won various RWA chapter contests. Erica is also the webmistress of her local writing chapter.
When not reading or writing romances, Erica can be found riding camels in Africa, zip-lining through rainforests in Costa Rica, or getting hopelessly lost in the middle of Budapest.
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Sonya Weiss is a freelance writer, ghostwriter, and author, including the Stealing the Heart series with Entangled Publishing. She's addicted to great books, good movies, and Italian chocolates.
She's passionate about causes that support abused animals and children. Her parents always supported her bringing stray animals home, although the Great Dane rescue was a surprise.
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New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti has worked as an art curator, Senate aide, lawyer, college professor, and a hearing examiner - only to culminate it all in stories about Alpha males and the women who claim them. She writes contemporary romances, dark paranormal romances, and romantic suspense novels.
Growing up amid the glorious backdrops and winter wonderlands of the Pacific Northwest has given Rebecca fantastic scenery and adventures to weave into her stories. She resides in the wild north with her husband, children, and extended family who inspire her every day—or at the very least give her plenty of characters to write about.
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